(Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
(AUSTIN, Texas) The University of Texas fired head football coach Tom Herman after four seasons with the team, the school announced Saturday.
Steve Sarkisian, Alabama's offensive coordinator, is expected to replace him as head coach, ESPN reported.
Herman finished with a 32-18 record in his four seasons at Texas. Herman's buyout for the remainder of his contract is $15 million while his assistants have a combined buyout of $10 million.
"Decisions like this are very, very difficult and certainly not something I take lightly," Texas athletics director Chris Del Conte said in a statement. "As I've said before, my philosophy is to wait until the end of the season to look at all of the factors in evaluating any of our programs."
Del Conte made the recommendation to fire Herman to University of Texas president Jay Hartzell and Kevin Eltife, chair of the Board of Regents, and they approved, according a statement by the university.
In Herman's second season in 2018, Texas made the Big 12 Championship game and finished ranked 9th overall, but the school never returned to that level under Herman. This season, Texas finished 7-3 with a win in the Alamo Bowl, but placed behind Iowa State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in the Big 12 standings.
Sarkisian won the 2020 Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant this season. He has also been a head coach at USC and Washington, compiling a 47-35 record. Alabama recently defeated Notre Dame in the College Football Playoffs and will play Ohio State for the title.
Herman was hired by Texas in 2016 after two seasons with Houston, where he went 22-4. He also served as an offensive coordinator at Iowa State and Ohio State.